Do you know any of these people?

[Hank Hanover]

I thought this might be fun although with my luck it will just offend everybody.

I'm not gong to pick on just one group. I think everybody should have some skin in the game.

Finish one or more of these sentences.

You may be a chowhound snob if ....

you have never cooked with Campbell's "cream of " whatever soup.
you have never cooked a ground beef based casserole.

You may be a chowhound redneck if ...

you use "cream of" whatever soup at least once a week.
Your "go to" bread is 99 cents a loaf white sandwich bread.
You don't even know what quinoa is.

You may be a chowhound newbie if ...

you don't know what a roux is.
you don't know how to use a can opener.

You may be a chowhound troll if ...

your avatar is a troll.
you respond to someone's post just to irritate them.
your initials are HH.

You may be a chowhound lurker if ...

you come to chowhound all the time but never post anything or respond to any threads.

I tried to include everyone. I'm not trying to offend anyone. Respond to some of these categories and.... try to have some fun.

[Kitchen Witch45]

Busted! Yes HH, I've been a lurker for at least 2 years. I sure do love this site!

[Bill Hunt]

Hank,

You DID cover a lot of bases there.

Now, as I AM a "redneck," I do fall into at least one category, and as my initials are "BH," (close), I might fall into at least one more.

Wife HAS used Cream of ____ in a few dishes, but not very often.

White bread has never been allowed in my home, but my mother would always put back my loaf of Roman Meal bread, as she felt that it was not dignified, and "genteel folk" ONLY ate white bread. Personally, I would rather have eaten the foam stuffing in a pillow, but that is just me.

I am probably a "CH snob," as my wife accuses me of collecting "Michelin stars," but somehow, she seems to really enjoy my selections?

She makes one danged fine roux, and perhaps the best Seafood Gumbo in the land, if she takes her time, uses her recipes (disregards the suggestions of her family), and gets the ingredients (not easy in Phoenix, AZ).

Any form of packaged "ground beef" is not allowed in our home. Our burgers are from chosen sirloin steaks, twice-ground, and then seasoned. Even my wife's meatloaf is done with selected meats from the butcher's, and never packaged.

OK, so I hit on about half, and I think that you had hoped for better, per responder. Sorry to disappoint.

Still, fun was had by all.

Hunt

[Hank Hanover]

I'm sure everyone has multiple tendencies. I think you have probably categorized yourself correctly. I don't have a problem with it as long as you know who you are and enjoy it... After all, it's your lief not mine. We all get our kicks our own way.

I tend to fit more than one group. Left to my own devices, I certainly am a low level troll and an A.H. I certainly have some redneck attitudes. probably less than I put on. I enjoy letting people think I have hay dripping off me. I use white bread all the time. Never ever made my own bread. Used Campbell's cream of mushroom soup but primarily use golden mushroom soup now. I am able to make something better than cream of mushroom without too much bother.

I use jarred pasta sauce when I use it at all. I use Kraft mac & cheese because that's what I think about when I think of mac and cheese. Using good cheese just doesn't taste right. I don't have it too often as my broker... E.F. Mama doesn't eat cheese. I buy ground chuck a couple of times a week.

Never eaten Quinoa. I don't eat egg plant because once I determined I didn't like it, I figured it would be wrong to take it away from those that do like it.

I don't eat Indian food because in my opinion it is crap. It tastes bad. I have eaten it, I don't like it, especially turmeric.

[hill food]

India has many regions, not ALL use turmeric (they do count 750 million people of various geographies and diets last I heard)

but it is true, it only takes one badly made batch of eggplant to screw it up for life.

[Bill Hunt]

Yes, there is room for one filling different categories.

As for the "mac and cheese," we often start the same way, and then "doctor" the dish, to suit - the cheeses probably cost more than ten boxes from Kraft.

Hunt

[rockandroller1]

I'm a Way Reformed. I think if there were a journey for how far you've come as a chowhound, I might be a worthy contender.

Throughout ALL my childhood, and that means through toward first couple of years of COLLEGE, I ate very, very few foods and was very, very picky (and very very skinny). I grew up on mostly hot dogs and white food - mashed or fried potatoes, noodles, pasta (plain with butter and salt only) and not much else. When I got a little older I graduated to inclusion of bologna and canned chef boy ar dee meals, plus the occasional rice a roni but I wouldn't touch any of my Mom's wonderful homemade meals including homemade bread and yogurt, homemade spaghetti sauce, pot roasts etc. I'd occasionally eat the fried chicken, and I liked pizza, but seriously, I was a nightmare as a child. Made my whole family miserable if we went somewhere that didn't have hot dogs. No ground meat of any kind, including hamburgers. No veggies except corn and canned spinach.

I am about as far on the other spectrum now as you can get there, though I do still occasionally have a box of kraft mac and cheese for old times sake (annie's is just not as good!). Outside of that weakness, I'm like Super Hound, in a CSA, big locavore, support local farms, etc.

[hill food]

not to be challenging the rationale of anyone adolescent or younger, but umm "No ground meat of any kind" did nobody explain what exactly is in hot dogs, or any sausage? ehh, maybe they were just glad you were eating.

to be honest, some days I'm on a carb and meat only kick. other days it's vegan roughage.

[KaimukiMan]

you give me hope for my niece. she will eat mac&cheese, grits, and i believe apple slices. Fortunately she takes vitamins no problem.

[gembellina]

If you've never cooked with Campbell's Cream Of soup, you may be a CH snob or you may just be English! (or French, or Norwegian, or whatever). So I'll propose another category of CH Minority, those who are mystified by some of the staples of American home cooking. While I've been turned on to "applesauce" in baking, I think you guys can keep the cream of mushroom casserole...

[MGZ]

"I think you guys can keep the cream of mushroom casserole..."

No, please take it.

[basildip]

I'm a Chowhound lurker, in all honesty. I still feel like such an outsider who posts on the wrong boards. The people who regularly post are a pretty sophisticated knowledgeable bunch. I feel like they all know one another. Being a lurker is to me far better than not being a member at all. You learn an awful lot; and, you get to enjoy the sometimes very funny people. Once in a while I dip my toe in the water (like with this post), and it is such great fun. Whew! There is so much to learn and enjoy here. Thank you to the chowhounders who openly share themselves and their experiences. I learn a lot from all of you.

[hyacinthgirl]

I don't know anyone else and I'm completely unknowledgable :) Come on in, the water's fine!

[Hank Hanover]

I was so hoping that by mentioning lurkers it would bring some out. This place is a pretty boring and sometime pretentious place without fresh blood.

I know there are a lot of people that just watch. When you participate, it encourages others that share your point of view to chime in. It, also encourages others that strongly disagree with your point of view, but that's ok... they don't really know who you are.

[hill food]

"This place is a pretty boring and sometime pretentious place without fresh blood"

boring? not really. pretentious? sometimes painfully. fresh blood? always welcome and needed. and brains, fresh brains. (oh right, that whole zombie thing was like OMG so 2010 college campus sophomore or something)

[Hank Hanover]

I'm torn between two responses.
1. uuuuh.... brains as in Homer Simpson (if he were a zombie)

2. Send more cops.... it was from an old zombies movie.

[hill food]

wasn't there some spoof that had someone with a bad Peter Lorre accent saying "oh your brains, they smell so delicious, let me smell your brains"

[rochfood]

HH...good quote.. that was from" Return of the Living Dead" a great horror/comedy movie from the 80s.

My fav Simpsons zombie quote

Bart " Dad you just shot the zombie Flanders !!!" ( one of the halloween episodes)

Homer.." He was a zombie ??"

[gingershelley]

Oh, Hill Food - we are still looking for 'fresh brains'... of course on CH - and in Zombieland; which judging by the popularity of The Walking Dead, certainly is not out of style!

[juliejulez]

I'm a pretty regular poster and I'm definitely not a sophisticate or remotely what I'd consider "knowledgeable" about most things food :) I still have fun though! And I agree, it's always nice to have new folks posting.

[TeeBeeinSD]

I feel the same way. I'd rather lurk and learn.

[John E.]

I don't recall how I found Chowhound. It was March 2010, so I have not really been posting here for too long when compared to some of the 'oldtimers'. I just started posting and like a stupid puppy, I never realized I was stepping on anyone's toes. I read a lot, learned a lot, and I also posted lot (I thought it was a lot anyway). Along the way I learned a great dea, but the most important thing I learned was that I learned much more by writing posts, sometimes with questions, sometimes without questions than I did just by reading and not participating. Along the way I got repreimanded a few times by the Chow moderators (that has not happened in over a year at least) and I was challenged a few times by other Chowhounders. Only a few times did I actually regret anything I posted. I felt chagrined a few times, but I soon got over it.

[hill food]

I am not an old timer, but when my toes hurt it's just 'cause of pre-existing callouses. y'all need to try harder.

[rochfood]

If you are gonna make fun of redneck food..then be fair and make fun of ghetto food...ie

Ghetto french toast...toast with syrup
mustard sandwiches
dousing your entire plate with hot sauce
honey buns
plastic gallons of orange drink
ghetto cookies..saltines with chocolate frosting.

[lemons]

Dunno why that's ghetto. It isn't African American and it isn't Jewish. My mother spoke of mustard sandwiches when she was a teenager in the Depression. I think it's just poor folks food of any ethnic persuasion.

[rochfood]

Same could be said for Redneck food

[Tripeler]

To me, a REAL redneck is someone who never misses an episode of the TV program "Skoal Train."

[Hank Hanover]

There are so any redneck shows now. I mean fat people and rednecks are the only ones left that can be made fun of. there are at least 2 or 3 gun manufacturers, 3 or 4 gator shows, 1 moonshiner show and 1 on the Amish mafia.

[Hank Hanover]

Wow we may need a ch ghetto gourmet class.

You may be a ghetto gourmet if

you have ever asked for a bowl of lemons at an IHOP and then made lemonade with your glass of water, the sugar packets on the table and the lemon wedges........then left without tipping.

By the way... I know a waiter at an IHOP.... that really happened. I couldn't make something like that up.

[hill food]

oh you ARE going to push buttons with that one. the very idea of drinking from the finger bowl. really. the very idea. really. (do I even need to add a smirky emoticon?)

[Hank Hanover]

You think I should report myself? :-)

[Pwmfan]

I have never incorporated cream soup into any dish I have ever made (and I live in hotdish country) yet last week I purchased a can of cream of chicken soup and gleefully consumed a bowlful. So what does that make me (fully realizing what I'm leaving myself open for by posing the question)?

[KaimukiMan]

Sinner! Repent and return to the Larder!

[JerryMe]

Wait - Saltines w/ chocolate frosting is soooo not ghetto! You 'could' fancy them up and use pink frosting, though. And just so's you could expand your repertoire of recipes, make your own frosting and don't get it out of the can!

[Hank Hanover]

Been a long time but I used to eat saltines with butter, saltines with jelly and here is a bast from the past for some of you folks.... crackers and milk. When I am in the mood, I reach past the cereal to the saltines crush a bunch of them into a glass of milk and eat it with a spoon.

A little high class for a red neck but butter crackers with nutella on them is pretty good. What I really like is nutella on a slice of banana nut bread.

[MGZ]

I s'pose I'm a snob, 'cause I've never had a cream of anything soup in my possession and have no idea what a ground beef casserole would be.

As to folks posting links, my thought is "read them"! Try a search before posting and if someone shows how the question has been "asked and answered", follow the link.

[Hank Hanover]

Here's my favorite

Rice Casserole hh

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs ground chuck
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 tbls tomato paste
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tbls flour
1 tbl vegetable oil
1.5 cups long grain white rice, cooked
1 can tomato soup
1 tsp paprika
1 tbl minced garlic
1 tsp brown sugar (optional if it is getting to acidic for you)
½ cup beef broth

Directions:

Brown the ground beef in a med high skillet. Lower the temperature a little, add some salt and pepper and sweat the onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic, thyme, paprika and tomato paste and stir it to thoroughly incorporate the tomato paste. Taste it now and see if it is too acidic. If it is add the sugar.

Sprinkle the flour over the meat mixture and mix it in for about 2 minutes. Add the beef broth. Stir until it thickens.

Spread the meat mixture over the bottom of a 9 x 13 pyrex baking pan. Spread the rice over the meat. Completely cover the meat. Poke several holes through the rice with the handle of a spoon.

Mix the tomato soup and a half a can of water. Spread this mixture over the rice with a spatula. You may not need all of it. No need to make it soupy. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes. Serve.

Variations:

Italian – use 1 lb ground chuck and ½ lb Italian sausage. Use pasta sauce instead of the tomato soup. Use Italian spices instead of or in addition to the thyme.

Mexican – Use 1 lb ground chuck and 1/2 lb chorizo. Use chopped bell pepper instead of the celery and carrots. Add a can of rotelle spiced tomatoes instead of the broth. Add a tbl of chile powder instead of the paprika and more to the tomato soup. You can even add cheese on top.

Cajun – Use 1 lb ground chuck and ½ lb andouille sausage. Use chopped bell pepper instead of the celery and carrots. Add a can of rotelle spiced tomatoes instead of the broth. Add a tbl of chile powder instead of the paprika and more to the tomato soup. Like it spicy? Add a little cayenne.
As always with a casserole, don’t be afraid to change things. That’s what casseroles are for.

Here is a link to another.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/em...

[MGZ]

It doesn't sound bad at all. Maybe I can talk my wife into lettin' me try it. The Cajun version seems most appealing, but Rotel is a non-started for me.* I s'pose I could substitute some Muir Glen roasted tomatoes and lots of fresh chiles though.

I just didn't grow up in a "casserole family". Mom never made 'em. Still doesn't, nor do I (unless one counts lasagna).

Once, in College, I agreed to drive a girl I knew to her folks' house for some reason that I no longer recall. In return, she promised that her Mom would make us "an awesome** home cooked meal!" She came from small Central Pennsylvania town and the drive was close to two hours.

On the way, I casually asked what Mom was makin'. "Oh, my absolute favorite. Her Tuna Casserole. It's sooo good." I drove on in dread.

Perhaps it was the fact that I had been eating nothing but cafeteria food and PA quality pizza, perhaps it was the fact that I was a nineteen year old football player, hell, maybe it was the joint we smoked on the way to Mom's - I don't know. Nevertheless, I was able to even finish the second helping Mom insisted on serving me. I politely let my friend keep the leftovers for herself, but it was my first introduction to a casserole and I didn't hate it (then again, I'm a lifelong 'hound who doesn't really hate any particular foods).

*I admitted to being a snob.

**It was the Eighties . . .

[Hank Hanover]

yeah.. you don't need to use Rotel...in fact that is the beauty of a casserole, they are endlessly changeable. You can add more cayenne. You can fancy it up or dress it down. You can use some other sauce than tomato soup. You could make the rice with tomato juice. You can top it with cheese... in your case .. Gruyère or whatever Fancy cheese you like.

You could top it with mashed potatoes and have a cottage pie.

I can respect a snob as long as he knows he's a snob Even better if he revels in it.

[basildip]

Hank Hanover, I'm black and grew up on casseroles. Does that make me a ghetto redneck? I don't eat them now, as I'm already fighting off the pounds I grew up accumulating. But they tasted good then. So now I'm a lurker, ghetto redneck.
Okay!!!

[Hank Hanover]

alright a 3fer!!

[pine time]

Hank: we may need some more options: I Have used cream of x soup in the distant past, but no longer, but I've also made some ground beef casserole (not with Tater Tots, and I've never heard of "hotdish" before). Can't be a redneck (altho' I'm from the South) 'cause of the "no longer" using the canned cream soups, don't buy 99 cent bread (that's just too funny), and I make quinoa often. So, what am I??

[kengk]

A couple of weeks ago I tried the $9 Rao's marinara sauce, pretty good. Last week I went to the poors grocery store and saw the same size jar of "Value Time" sauce for .94. Yes, 94 CENTS. It was not bad at all.

I actually like several recipes that have Cream O' soup but that stuff gives me terrible heartburn.

[pine time]

Let me clarify: I do shop the 99 cent store for some items, so I'm not at all a if-it's-expensive-it-must-be-good person. Bread, however, I do see a difference in lowest common denominator vs artisanal hand crafted bread.

[kengk]

I agree 100%. I started baking all our own bread several years ago because we can't buy decent bread at any price in this podunk town.

[Vidute]

reformed? ;)

[pine time]

Lovely! Makes me sound all redeemed or something!

[Vidute]

:)

[LindaWhit]

I still make ONE dish that uses Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup - Hamburger Stroganoff (a.k.a. S.O.S.) The recipe is from the old General Mills recipe cards from the 1970 that were stored in the lime green hard plastic box.

I make it about twice a year - I use a half can for the recipe now (instead of the full can, as called for on the card), and freeze the other half can for the 2nd time I make it.

[afridgetoofar]

I was a CH lurker for a long time, actually a very long time. There are probably a few hereabouts who wish I'd stayed on my side of the monitor; I don't post with the intent of being an irritant, truly, though I am occasionally perhaps tooooo lighthearted and don't think about how my off-the-cuff replies could be interpreted as unkind or just plain silly, until I re-read them at a later time and do a facepalm. doh!

Anyway, I'm here, for better or worse. I know what quinoa is, but haven't tried it, despite being a devoted follower of "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" on NPR. I know what a roux is, but I have used cream-of-whatever soups in cooking, what midwestern Scandinavian of a certain age hasn't. If categorized, I'd guess I'm a semi-evolved food devotee with good intentions.

Is there a category for former lurkers who are making up for lost time by writing too much in response to simple questions? Hi!

[Hank Hanover]

I suspect everyone started as a lurker.

One of the reasons I hang around this site is to try to represent the lurkers that are reading the more pretentious statements some these people come up with.

[John E.]

I wished I had lurked. If I had I would not have such a boring username.

[jmcarthur8]

Ditto.

[Dee S]

I like my boring user name! ;)

Looooong time lurker but it's one of the best places to lurk. I plan trips around my lurking! Very rarely post.

[Hank Hanover]

See that was pretty easy

[hill food]

abridge - if you're ever too embarrassed by a comment you made, you can always 'report' yourself to the mods for deletion. they're very obliging. I've ratted myself out on occasion.

[John E.]

Hell, there are a few posts of mine that I wish I had reported ; )

[KaimukiMan]

I reported myself just last week.

[John E.]

I may report one of my posts above this one.

[hill food]

I report myself for things I've never posted.

doesn't get more Camus than that.

[gingershelley]

Nice, Hill Food - very nice:)

[afridgetoofar]

I'm back. As said, I've been lurking for a long while here. I don't think I've ever read anything that truly struck me as cruel, though mods may have deleted such responses. I only know that I'm more tender-hearted than I sometimes think I seem here. And, as has been said, it's difficult to gauge intent on printed words, I think at the time that I'm having fun or being silly, enjoying myself, then suddenly I realize what I've written may have been interpreted as something worse, or at least something that got on someone's last nerve, because their life choices aren't mine, and that's often a recipe for conflict.

This site is about food. Someone kind posted that to me, when I worried. It's about pleasure, about thoughtfulness in our choices, about having fun, about living life to the fullest however we do it. This is a large, largely pleasure-loving site, and people add their insights and knowledge and that's why I've lurked and enjoyed it for so long, and finally felt I might contribute in my own way. I've learned a lot of very interesting things, here.

I know what quinoa is. I know how to make a roux. I know it's ok to have a preference for dark chocolate or milk chocolate. I know that despite often very polarized views people can muddle on and get along. :)

You might be a ChowHounder if you accept that we all have preferences and foibles and we make mistakes in the kitchen and on the Internet; and we learn from the burnt food and the typed words we wish a day or so later we could stuff back into our keyboards but it's a good thing we didn't because it's oh-kay. I may buy some quinoa tomorrow, maybe even from Trader Joe's. Or I may make a casserole with cream of something soup, or let my SO go to the deli and come home with a bag filled with anything but what I asked him to bring home, and I'll write about that here and feel happy. That, to me, is what being a ChowHound is all about. Experimenting, sharing, learning, making mistakes, moving forward, having fun doing it with people who've done it too.

[hill food]

oh lighten up, you're being too hard on yourself. most of us are silly. and make mistakes (or uhh say ridiculous things that for some reason don't get deleted, as many of mine ought to have). and sometimes we say something dumb. yet the world goes on.

don't bother to apologize over something that happened on another thread and is forgotten, that is not your identity anymore, unless you mention it.

[afridgetoofar]

Um, I thought I was being lighthearted. Don't really need to be told to lighten up, but it's hard to read intent and emotion on a screen, I reckon. I'm not doing a mea-culpa at the keyboard, just rambling. I'm old. I free-associate.

In the spirit of the OP, I have been given, and used, gift cards for TJ's, but I've thrown their frozen strawberries into the same blender with Bird's Eye frozen peaches, and no kale in the mix. So might you be a Chowhounder if you shamelessly shop at both TJ's and Costco, and combine the ingredients purchased at each location? Or if you can't discern any superiority of quality in TJ's almond milk vs. what I buy from my neighborhood supermarket where the chickens aren't free-range and the vegetables are the produce of corporate farming and not locally-grown, organic, artisanal carrots and potatoes?

[Hank Hanover]

Oh, those are close to fighting words, here. If you criticize Trader Joe's, these people will burn your house down.

I do insist that only organic grain be stuffed down the throats of the geese that are butchered for my Foie gras.

Take it easy... I have never had Foie gras, I can't afford it.

[hill food]

Hank - re TJ's: oh I'm still reporting to my PO and doing community service for my "unfortunate misunderstanding" there about a discontinued product. bunch of liars.

boy those folks play hardball.

[basildip]

You were being light hearted--delightedly so. If I can adopt your attitude, I can enjoy posting more instead of just lurking. And to whoever coined 'self delete', that's so funny. Thanks y'all!

[hill food]

fridge - pls. take very little of what I say seriously unless I'm ref-ing a specific place or ingredient on a regional or cooking board. and that sorta goes for many.

on the NAF or General boards, all bets are off.

[jmcarthur8]

afridge, anyone who is a fan of 'Wait, Wait' can eat anything they darn well please.

[afridgetoofar]

LOL, well, thanky. I recall a podcast of "Wait, Wait", where Mo Rocca said it was "nerd on nerd violence" for NPR to diss PBS. I believe there was also talk of combatants smacking each other with their respective tote bags.

You might be a Chowhounder if you have reusable tote bags from all your favorite grocery haunts, even if they clash with each other's ideologies. It's all green, eh.

[jmcarthur8]

Oh, dear. You MUST be a Chowhounder if you have a collage taking over an entire garage wall made of shopping bag fronts and menus from food places you've been.

[Hank Hanover]

The problem I have with those bags is... I never remember to bring them with me when I go shopping.

[jmcarthur8]

Ours go right back into the car after the groceries are put away. At the very least, they go on the workbench in the garage right next to the car door.
If we keep them in the house, they never get to the store, either.

[melpy]

I hang them in th door out because the are a nuisance and an eyesore so they usually make it back to the car pretty quick.

[Dee S]

Yup....we have several of those bags but they seem to be left behind on every shopping trip. I even have one filled up with the plastic bags to take back.

Guess where it remains? Yup....behind.

[pine time]

I keep 'em in the car and STILL manage to forget to bring them in. And would I go back to the car to get 'em--of course not.

[John E.]

"Ground beef casserole???" WTF? Don't you mean 'hotdish'?

[Hank Hanover]

Is that British for casserole? Aren't those the same people that put a u in the word color? Call a cookie a biscuit? Call a dinner roll made with beef drippings a pudding from Yorkshire?

[John E.]

Nope, more like Minnesotan for casserole. Although the wikipedia entry mentions only Minnesota and North Dakota, the states of South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa (at least western WI and northern IA) are also in the heart of 'hotdish' country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotdish

[pagesinthesun]

That's sooo funny! I'm the redneck CH from TX and I know (or knew) my way around ground beef casserole.

On the other hand, my DH is prime MN (my Viking). He laughed his head off about "hotdish" He said when his mom said hotdish he knew it was a "baked ground beef casserole".

Loving this thread!

[PattiCakes]

OMG, I am hearing lines from Prairie Home Companion in my head right now......

[ricepad]

Does 'hotdish' = 'covered dish'?

[hill food]

IMHO yes, but usually the term is reserved for the consolation casserole brought to the bereaved after the Loved One has departed to join the Choir Eternal.

[John E.]

I've never heard them referred to as a covered dish, but I suppose they can be covered.

[hill food]

what does it mean if one truly likes the infamous green bean casserole that haunts every holiday table in the US, BUT insists on creaming fresh mushrooms starting with a roux from scratch and quick blanching fresh beans yet still uses the canned fried onions?

tell me and I'll be glad to comply with the rules of this game and get offended...troll ya later!

[KaimukiMan]

find an asian grocery store and get some of their crispy fried shallots in a jar. much more refined, gourmet even. anything foreign is good right?

i repeat from above: buttinski

[Vidute]

or the fried onions from tj's. chowhound approved!

[Hank Hanover]

It means you need to find a 12 step program for that... Hi... my name is Hill food and I like green bean casserole.... Hi... hill food.

[hill food]

"I guess I hit bottom when one night, at ohh about 2 AM, zooming on Maxwell House dark roast crusted chicken fried cube steak with red-eye gravy, I found myself breaking into the community garden to filch their beans, and that's when I noticed the snails crawling. well 4 hours later as I'm on my hands and knees covered in mulch with a mini maglite in my teeth and the dawn was just breaking all Halloween orange and chimney red, I had oh maybe 20 in my pockets, figuring I'd keep them in the tub with some lettuce and garlic for a week to, ya' know, clean out their systems, and then the cops pulled up. and that's when I knew I had a problem"

[Hank Hanover]

You were doing them a favor. Do they know what 20 snails would have done to their lettuce crop?

[afridgetoofar]

Hill food, let me tell ya about the crawfish that used to crawl across my back yard after a rain in N'Awlins, and the first time I ever saw a really big possum near the woodpile there. I thought I should call Roswell. Then the locals told me they were both good eating. And I thought, hmmmm. I asked the NO butcher about "brats" and they didn't have clue (maybe even thought I was a mean cannibal). I learned not to turn pale at the big sacks of still squirming "bait shrimp" at the docks, because they were danged good eating. But how people have laughed at me as I've moved around the U.S. and visited other countries, if being in love with learning and food is a problem, I'm ok with my problem! :D

I never did eat possum though. They're too cute.

[Hank Hanover]

Cute? They look like a diseased rat! Which is the reason I have never eaten one.

[afridgetoofar]

Nonsense. Possums have sweet heart-shaped faces, little pink blobs of noses, and pink feet. They sashay when they walk. I will admit they have a lot of teeth and they don't always "faint" when startled. I startled one I hadn't seen on my back deck and it hissed at me and that one didn't look so cute, but I forgave it. :)

[James Cristinian]

I've run across cornered possums while hunting, and I was scared even though I was totin' a loaded shotgun.

[mcf]

I wish I could say I've ever seen one sashaying. Maybe that habit (instead of scurrying) is why this joke resonates with me:

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To show the possum it could be done.

[Lillipop]

A mean cannibal was witty.

[hill food]

it's like that MIchael Moore movie, re rabbits "Pets or Meat"

[hyacinthgirl]

By these rules I'm a snob! Which means that snobs eat cheetos for breakfast on bad days sometimes :)

[goodhealthgourmet]

And peanut butter straight from the jar for dinner {sheepish grin}

[Hank Hanover]

Nothing better than ritz crackers and peanut butter. ...well maybe peanut butter and chocolate.

[goodhealthgourmet]

No Ritz for me :( I do love chocolate (dark, please) with my PB, but when I'm eating it for dinner, it's straight up out of the jar.

[BeefeaterRocks]

Nein, nein, nein, it's Keebler Club crackers. HH you forgot about us food Nazis.

[Hank Hanover]

I don't know.... Club crackers are pretty high class although I just bought some generic store brand club crackers with a round shape. They sorts look like a ritz only lighter.

[Bill Hunt]

I think that I spent one whole semester at college, eating ONLY Ritz crackers and peanut butter, except for major dates, when we went to Kiami for pizza and $2 pitchers of beer.

Hunt

[hyacinthgirl]

But when you think about it, if you put peanut butter ON something, you're really just adding calories and maybe carbs, or sugars, so eating it straight from the jar is the HEALTHIEST way to do it! :)

[James Cristinian]

My mom had a stroke and I took care of her for 2 and a half years. Some of the things we ate, cream of whatever with chicken and rice, actually pretty good. Also, spaghettio's, fried shrimp, good take out fajitas, and her absolute favorite, Nestle toll house cookies.

[Hank Hanover]

You may be a Chowhound redneck if ...

you think Indian cuisine is the fry bread your Cherokee grandmother taught you how to make..

[baseballfan]

I love fry bread! Good job...now I have a craving :)

[deet13]

You may be a chowhound redneck if posting about fry bread makes you think of fry bread tacos...

Also you may be a chowhound redneck if you and your cousin get into an argument about whether you hunt wild pigs because you're doing your part by harvesting a invasive food source; or, it's because you have a blast stalking the oinkers through the palmetto scrub with your lever action .30-.30 carbine, and you're using the invasive species statement as a justification for your hunting....

[mommystar]

Where's the "Like" button?
I had a Chickasaw mamaw who made fry bread... Bless her!

[Bill Hunt]

What about fry bread, that I cook on the exhaust manifold of my Jeep Cherokee, when I drive to the "tractor pull?"

Hunt

[pine time]

My first--and only--Navajo Taco was on the Navajo reservation, of all places. Loved fry bread, so was looking forward to some Navajo specialty.

It was the wonderful fry bread, but with a glop of apparently canned chili and pre-shredded cheese. Nasty.

[Hank Hanover]

When I was a kid, I was raised in Farmington, New Mexico, about 30 miles off the Navajo reservation.

Anyway, my mom made enchiladas all the time. When we moved to California, I noticed that her enchiladas tasted nothing like everyone else s. When I was an adult I went into an American Indian restaurant and ordered something.

Well what came out was my mom's enchiladas only cut up and swirled around like a casserole but the taste was my mom's enchiladas. That was about when I started learning that cultures cuisines mix and morph when they come together in a one location. New Mexico had a large American Indian population and a large Mexican population. Consequently, their enchiladas have a much more unique taste than at the Mexican restaurants most of you are familiar with.

[Bill Hunt]

Ugh! It CAN be better, and should not be from a "can."

Oh well, I think that we have all had dishes, that possessed great potential, ruined due to one, or two ingredients. Should not happen, but it does.

Hunt

[kengk]

You might be a CH AH if most every post you make is to point out that what someone else thinks/feels/says/does/likes is wrong.

[juliejulez]

I giggled at this one :)

[pagesinthesun]

No way,...there are people on CH that do that? ;-)

[mkmccp]

Or to find every previous ch post on the subject and list them. How about just not wasting your time and ignore the new post?

[hyacinthgirl]

Aw but sometimes that's helpful! (wait, does disagreeing make me an automatic AH? DAMNIT! FOILED AGAIN!)

[goodhealthgourmet]

How is it a waste of time to provide someone with a wealth of existing answers to their question?

[KaimukiMan]

at times wealth ad nauseum . . .

and what about those of us who respond to comments intended for others, giving the answer we think they would write (or should write). as shown below:

I think mkmccp was specific about EVERY previous post, not just the most recent or most obvious. i seem to remember a post about seasoning cast iron and having someone cite about 14 other discussions on the subject. One or two of the good ones probably would have sufficed.

Yep, I'm definitely a CH buttinski of the first order.

And I only use cream of_______ occasionally - any more, so i'm only an aspiring CH redneck, or is it recovering? I know I never would have survived my first few years cooking for myself without cream soups. Brown any protein with sliced or chopped onions. Throw in a can of sliced mushrooms and a liberal amount of garlic powder and black pepper. Throw in a can of cream of mushroom soup and allow to brown. Serve over pasta, rice, hamburger buns, toast, mashed potato, or any other starch known to humans. Yeah, I was a redneck. Still not sure of the difference between quinoa, couscous, and orzo. Orzo is a small bean isn't it? ;-)

[Hank Hanover]

I don't use cream of whatever anymore but I do use Golden Mushroom soup but I have an excuse! The whole family got used to my wife's 40 year old recipe for Swiss steak. You see I didn't like red sauce and complained about her Swiss steak being too red so she started using Golden Mushroom soup and I liked it. My son grew up on it. When I tried to make it with out Golden mushroom soup ... the troops revolted. It tasted great. It just wasn't Swiss Steak so... I use Golden Mushroom soup on it..... shrugs.

[meatn3]

Was I married to you? That's my ex's specialty!

[Bill Hunt]

I thought that Orzo was some sort of spirit, like grappa... no wait, that is Ouzo. Dang, foiled again, but I will bet that there are 37 CH posts on Orzo, going back to 1889, if only I had looked.

Hunt

[Hank Hanover]

It used to irk me slightly because I thought you were telling whoever posted the thread that this subject has been addressed, answered and beaten to death before.

Once I figured out that isn't your intention (you are actually trying to be helpful), I got over it.

[goodhealthgourmet]

I'm glad - it was never my intention to be rude about it. But you may have noticed that I stopped bothering to go to the trouble, because you weren't the only one who misinterpreted and I got tired of people bitching at me for trying to help!

[Hank Hanover]

No good deed goes unpunished. :-)

[LindaWhit]

The Google-Fu is strongest in ghg.

[mcf]

Yeah, when I do that, like GHG, it's to be helpful offering previous discussion that the OP might never have seen.

OTOH, if you do it with a snide remark about searching, that's a whole 'nuther thang.

[Bill Hunt]

"Here, let me Google that for you... "

Hunt

[mcf]

LOL.

[ohmyyum]

I, for one, always appreciate your links to previous posts because I am new to the site (at least to participating) and I really suck at searching!

[mcf]

Don't feel bad about it; the search function on CH sucks worse.
;-)

[Bill Hunt]

It was not always so, but now, I completely agree with you. Things changed, and not for the better.

Hunt

[pdxgastro]

Also, the search option on the site was pretty bad in the past (have not tried it lately). People even came up with a workaround.

[calliope_nh]

My workaround is to type the word chowhound and my search terms into google. I get much better results with all chowhound posts related shown.

[jarona]

ROTFLMAO! The "France" board came to mind. I take exception with Mr. J. Talbott who is a regular on that board. He is one of the few posters who isn't condescending or such a snobby "expert" on THE greatest places in Paris..etc. I love France and go there every year, but I try not to travel to the France board on Chowhound:)

[dmjordan]

+1 I was thinking that there was a category that was left out!

[John E.]

Or, you may be sensitive Chowhounder if you are offended by even an innocuous post written by another Chowhounder.

[hill food]

oh John E., of course not. it's not like we're a bunch of paranoid narcissists.

it's just that every one of YOUR posts are in service to that purpose.

[LindaWhit]

POINT! to kengk.

Nicely played. Very nicely played. (I can think of one or two who fit that bill!)

[eclecticsynergy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfzLyP...

[juliejulez]

I feel left out, I don't fit any of those :( Although prior to meeting my SO, I'd probably be in the snob category as I had never made a ground beef based casserole until we got together (he loves stuff like that). I'm actually making one on Sunday! haha I still refuse to use cream of whatever soups though.

This is fun though!

[pagesinthesun]

Are you referring to ground beef casserole with cream of mushroom soup and topped with tater tots? If so, then that leaves me out of the CH snob column. I loved to make that many,many moons ago! Hot right out of the oven topped with cold ketchup, of course.

I'll have to look out for that troll from now on.

[Hank Hanover]

Oh.. that's king of the chowhound rednecks. I am in awe of you!

uhh... can I get that recipe?

[twyst]

dont forget the layer of cheese between the beef and the tots!

[pagesinthesun]

Yeah! You are right! It's actually a good food memory. Albeit very WT

[Michelly]

and the cheese has to be Velveeta.

[Bill Hunt]

Oh, that takes things to a whole new level!!!!

Hunt

PS - Does Cheese Whiz count?

[eclecticsynergy]

Extra points for using both. And don't forget the bacon!

[Midknight]

Do you have this recipe that you an share with us, Pages? :D

[hill food]

does that really need a recipe?

[Hank Hanover]

It really should be published for the benefit of all. Much like this recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pa...

[eclecticsynergy]

Some of us would be just lost without the Interweb...

http://www.food.com/recipe/how-to-boi...

[Hank Hanover]

hill food... somebody!! I think eclectic is picking on me.... :-)

That recipe has 5 stars, too. Ok so maybe it is less complex than paula's buttered english peas recipe....

Open the can....add butter.

[John E.]

Tater Tot hotdish certainly is more complex than the post written by pagesinthesun implies. Although I have not made it for several years, and there are many variations, (thus the recipe request) when properly made, it is delicious.

[eclecticsynergy]

Joking aside, I admit to craving childhood comfort food once in a while. Including old school tuna noodle casserole, which just wouldn't be the same without the old condensed cream soup

[John E.]

I actually liked the school's version of 'potato nuggety hotdish'. My mother made it pretty good as well. I have not had it in years, (I don't recall cheese ever being a part of it and it doesn't sound right to me) but I may make it sometime soon. What I do not recall fondly was either the school's tuna noodle hotdish nor my mother's, even with the crumbled potato chips on top, I hated that stuff. Mostly, it's the canned tuna I cannot stand.

[Bill Hunt]

It has been so long ago, and I am so very old, that I do not recall that dish, way back when - however, and with that said, I DO enjoy it now!

Hunt

[KrumTx]

Well, it took me one year of posting to find out what the DH so many referred to actually meant. I just learned the other day when someone clearly spelled it out on a post. I always wondered what a Designated Hitter had to do with so many posters, especially since you'd think half of them are fans of NL teams.

[monfrancisco]

Outstanding! All I can add is, me too. Oh wait, one more thing-- the other option that occurred to me isn't really suitable for spelling out on such a lovely forum.

[pdxgastro]

You never heard of Google?

[KrumTx]

Be nice! I knew I'd figure it out eventually and not knowing didn't bother me enough to leave whatever post I was reading to look it up.

[wincountrygirl]

Mine was ISO! Finally figured that one out!

[ohmyyum]

Haha I finally figured out DH meant da hubby or something like that but I'm still stumped by ymmv. Your mileage may vary? I don't know. And I don't want to google it either. :)

[Ruth Lafler]

You're right on YMMV -- that one took me a long time when I first started seeing it. The "D" is "DH" stands for "Dear" or "Darling".

[LindaWhit]

The "D" can also mean "Damn", depending on the situation. :-)

[Hank Hanover]

Dh == Darling Husband but close enough

ymmv == your mileage may vary == your recipe yield may vary from the posters.... something like that.

They really need to publish a list for us.

I have heard DD darling daughter; not sure if I have seen DS darling son. Have I ever seen DW for darling wife? .. If I had, I would have demanded his man club card!

[ohmyyum]

Aha thanks Ruth and HH! Now DS and DD make sense too, lol. But it seems like it's mostly women using this acronym because I don't see a whole lot of DW!

And I figured out ymmv but didn't understand what it meant so thanks for the explanation.

[hill food]

once I used an abbreviation for dishwasher and some thought I was posting something about my non-existent 'darling wife'

I'm not THAT much of a jerk.

[Hank Hanover]

My father-in-law used to tell his 5 daughters... "Why should I buy a dishwasher? I already have 5."

[John E.]

My father said the same thing...except it was about his sons and a snowblower.

[Ruth Lafler]

I was thinking about that -- I don't remember seeing it. If a man refers to his wife by a "blind" term, it's usually something more amusing.

[Hank Hanover]

like my broker... E.F. Mama when she talks you listen.

The secret to a long marriage is the liberal use of the words .. "Yes, dear". I have been married 40 years as of march 25th.

[goodhealthgourmet]

They really need to publish a list for us.
~~~~~~~~~
http://www.magicpub.com/netprimer/acronyms.html
http://www.netlingo.com/top50/popular-text-terms.php
http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php
http://www.gaarde.org/acronyms/
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/i...

I couldn't resist :)

[Hank Hanover]

you fell off the wagon, eh?

[njmarshall55]

SWMBO...She who must be obeyed.

[Bill Hunt]

DH, DW, SO, M-I-L, B-I-L, etc., have been terms that I had to first learn, but that was some many posts ago.

However, there are still new ones, that I puzzle over, and have to Google, to find out what the heck is being referred to.

Hunt